Belgian migrant aid associations have raised the alarm over a lack of government measures to protect migrants from an outbreak of the coronavirus. The groups also say that migrants' rights are being violated.
Aid organizations are concerned that migrants living in informal camps in France are the great forgotten ones in the country's measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus. The French government imposed a nationwide 15-day lockdown on Tuesday.
In mid-February, round 300 migrants were intercepted at sea by the Libyan coast guard and transferred to a detention center at Sharah Zawiya, in the south of Libya's capital Tripoli. The center has been open for at least a year. Recently, it has been taken under the control of the UN-backed government and has become accessible to the IOM.
The crews of private rescue ships have been placed under quarantine and humanitarian corridors, as well as Dublin returns, have been suspended. The coronavirus epidemic has prompted European states, mainly Italy, to take action related to migration in order to stem the spread of the virus.
Oumar arrived in France when he was 16 years old and started studying catering. But as soon as he turned 18, his apprenticeship was abruptly terminated and he was ordered to leave France. This is his story.
On Thursday night, the Ocean Viking rescued 92 migrants, including pregnant women and children off the Libyan coast. Those rescued were "extremely weak and soaked in petrol" said the rescue team.
Since the start of this year, two people have died after being stabbed in the Moria migrant camp on the Greek island of Lesbos. According to Doctors Without Borders (MSF), the main reason for the surge in violence is the severe overcrowding of the camp, with just 2,800 places available for the more than 19,000 people living there.
The rules regarding access to accommodation for two categories of asylulm seekers and refugees in Belgium are being tightened according to the Minister for Asylum and Migration in the country. The measure was described as "illegal" by migrant support associations, including the very active Citizens' Platform for Refugee Support in Brussels.
After living in Germany for more than a year, Amin met a German woman and fell hopelessly in love. Two years after the beginning of their romance, Amin was deported to Algeria. Since then, they have done everything they can to be reunited. Here is Amin's story, in his own words:
The fact that the Afghan suspect behind the deadly knife attack in Lyon suffered from mental health problems has highlighted France’s overall challenge of providing migrants with psychological traumas the appropriate care. While some migrants remain unaware of the benefits of seeking help from a psychologist, others suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), or are simply impossible to follow-up on because they are continuously on the move.
Since June 11, around 40 undocumented migrant workers, hired to work for the courier delivery firm Chronopost, have been on strike outside the company’s facility in Alfortville, in the Paris suburbs. They say their working conditions are unacceptable and that the French company is taking advantage of their status to, in the words of one worker, “treat us like slaves.”
Earlier this year, InfoMigrants managed to communicate with an Ivorian minor locked up in a house in the Libyan capital, Tripoli. For several days, the 16-year-old called Mariam* recounted her experiences in captivity including repeated rapes, her fear of falling pregnant and her dreams of reaching Europe. But then there was silence. Here's an animated account of Mariam's horrific story.